Pressure builds for scrapping of religion ministry
Pressure builds for scrapping of religion ministry
Muhammad Nafik, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Calls are mounting for the government to revamp or scrap
altogether the Ministry of Religious Affairs following a recent
proposal to establish a joint religion office to promote
interfaith harmony.
Critics say the ministry has strayed from its core mission as
a center of ethics and morality, which should take the lead in
fostering close relations between followers of different
religions.
"The ministry has become the focus for a power struggle
between political parties, and, as a consequence, religion is the
victim," said Komaruddin Hidayat, a professor at Jakarta State
Islamic University (UIN).
Ulil Abshar Abdalla, from the Indonesian Conference on
Religion and Peace (ICRP), also threw his weight behind the call,
in the full knowledge that many Muslim groups were competing for
jobs in the ministry.
"The ministry appears to be a source of political pride for
many Muslims," Ulil said without elaborating.
Former president Abdurrahman "Gus Dur" Wahid had sought to
scrap the ministry in 1999, arguing that the government should
not intervene in religious affairs as Indonesia was not an
Islamic state.
However, he canceled the proposal after it drew strong
resistance from many circles, including leaders from his own
Nahdlatul Ulama (NU), the country's largest Muslim organization.
Earlier last week, leaders of different religious
organizations, along with the House of Representatives, called
for the establishment of a joint secretariat to foster religious
ties.
Scholars said the joint religion office would be effective if
it was set up independently by organizations of different
religions, with the government merely acting as facilitator.
In the long run, the proposed office could take over the
responsibilities of the Ministry of Religious Affairs in
promoting interfaith unity.
Komaruddin said the call for such a joint religion office
reflected people's frustration over the ministry's failure to
bring peace to Muslims, Christians, Hindus, Buddhists and others.
However, he warned that scrapping the ministry would bring
short-term "pragmatic" problems that the government and some
Muslim groups had to face.
"I supported the idea of Gus Dur to dissolve the Ministry of
Religious Affairs because it was not needed, but it has been too
difficult to put into practice," said Komaruddin.
He added that what the government could do in practice would
be to review soon the ministry's existence and activities.
"It should be revamped to become a state office dealing with
religious affairs, with a limited number of officials," said the
noted Muslim scholar, who resigned several months ago as the
ministry's director general of state Islamic colleges.
He said that with sweeping reforms the ministry would be able
"to enlighten the public and provide general policies" on how to
improve ties between followers of diverse religions.
Ulil said the restructuring should include replacing many of
the ministry's officials who had "conservative perspectives" on
religion.
A similar view was shared by NU leader Solahuddin Wahid, who
is Gus Dur's younger brother. He hoped the move would prompt the
ministry to cease its engagement in operational matters.
"It is impossible to scrap the ministry, but to restructure it
is quite feasible," Solahuddin added.
He and Komaruddin suggested that management of the haj
pilgrimage be handed over to the private sector and of Islamic
education to the Ministry of National Education.
UIN Rector Azyumardi Azra said the reforms should cover the
ministry's existence, its poor human resources, vision and
mission in facilitating interfaith dialog.
"The Ministry of Religious Affairs should free itself of
responsibility for technical matters and produce broad-minded
concepts to improve relations between religions," he added.